Back in 2009, at the beginning of the ‘Glee’ era, Lea Michele mentioned her dream musical role in an interview with The Washington Post. The actress, who started her career on Broadway, revealed:

“I want to be in ‘Funny Girl.’ And I want Ryan Murphy to direct it … I would do it in a basement in Brooklyn if somebody would let me do it! It’s the best role ever — any Jewish girl would want to play Fanny Brice!”

Michele sang some of the songs from the musical during her run in ‘Glee’ and even performed ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’ at the Tonys in 2010.

So, when the possibility of her taking on the role originally played by Barbra Streisand arose again after Ryan Murphy got the play’s stage rights in 2015, the director told Entertainment Weekly:

“We had talked about it for sure. But then I feel like we [do] so many of those songs and so many of those scenes [on Glee] that in a weird way, I feel like we did it in some way.”

Still, the ‘Glee’ actress got the part years later in 2022 when a new version returned to Broadway. The show opened with Beanie Feldstein as Brice, but Michele took over after her departure from the production a few months later.

The new Broadway cast of ‘Funny Girl’ released a recording of the musical’s songs with the actress in the following months. Now, the play is coming to a close with Lea Michele on September 3, 2023.

The post Glee Star Lea Michele’s Dream Role Might Surprise You appeared first on Ntertain Us!.

‘Glee,’ the popular musical television series, experienced its fair share of challenges and changes over the years. Among the significant transformations was the departure of Jayma Mays, who portrayed the guidance counselor, Emma Pillsbury, after the show’s fifth season.

The actress officially announced her exit from ‘Glee’ during the ‘Smurfs 2’ premiere in 2013, confirming to Access Hollywood:

“This is going to be my last season.”

Later, in an interview with Metro, Mays gave further details on why she wasn’t featured in the sixth season of the series, explaining:

“It wasn’t my choice. The creators decided to do it. We knew it was coming last year. Some other characters will also be leaving this season. It’s very sad to be going, but I understand why they do it. It’s about getting new blood into the show. I really enjoyed playing Emma. I don’t know how I’m written out yet. I’m so curious.”

Jayma’s departure came after the tragic loss of her ‘Glee’ co-star Cory Monteith, who passed away from a lethal combination of heroin and alcohol in July 2013. In the same chat with Metro, she also opened up about her feelings about losing Monteith, saying:

“It’s been really hard. We just filmed his memorial episode, and it was a very difficult thing to do. It’s been a very sad and difficult year for everyone.”

Besides Mays, longtime series stars Heather Morris, Mark Salling, and Harry Shum, Jr. also decided to step down from their roles. Still, they all returned to the show as guest stars in the final sixth season of the series.

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